Diabetes Distress: The Reciprocal Relationship between Diabetes and Mental Health Daniel J. Wachtel, Psy.D. Clinical Psychologist Geropsychologist
Disclosure I have no relevant financial relationships to report.
Goals: 1) Define Diabetes Distress, Causal factors, impact on a patient, their loved ones, and on diabetes management. 2) Review relationship between Diabetes Distress and Mental Illness. How to Assess for diabetes distress and mental illness 3) Treatment Recommendations for diabetes distress How Mental Health Colleagues can help
Part 1 Diabetes Distress Having diabetes is like someone handing you four balls and telling you to juggle perfectly. Then it s telling you that once you acquire that skill you will now juggle every day for the rest of your life and that there are variables that are going to influence your ability to juggle, you just don t know what and when. If you stop doing this, you will get sick and the people who care about you will become upset and tell you to start juggling again. American Association of Diabetes Educators (2017)
Diabetes Distress Diabetes Distress: (aka diabetes burden or burn-out) an emotional state where people experience feelings such as stress, guilt, or denial that arise from living with diabetes and the burden of selfmanagement
Diabetes Distress: The emotional burden of living with and managing diabetes
Diabetes Distress Symptoms of Diabetes Distress include feeling: Drained mentally and physically Angry, scared, depressed about diabetes That diabetes controls their lives. Fearful of serious long-term complications But, mostly it results in...
Feeling Overwhelmed
Origin of the term Whenever our actions have unpredictable outcomes, we can become distressed. In this case it is specific to diabetes, so it is referred to as diabetes distress.
The Diabetes Distress Cycle: Give up: (Ex: I wont check my sugar/wont take meds) Unmanaged Diabetes Emotional toll of Diabetes Diabetes Distress Tension, Fatigue, Overwhelmed: Burnout
Diabetes Distress and Unmanaged Diabetes
Diabetes Distress
Part 2 Diabetes and Mental Illness Rates of Diabetes Distress: 18% of people with diabetes had high or very high levels of psychological distress compared with 12% of people without diabetes More females (22%) than males (15%) with diabetes had high or very high levels of psychological distress NHS (2004-2005)
Assessment of Diabetes Distress The Diabetes Distress Scale (DDS) helps clinician and pt. gain an understanding of pt. emotional state. (2 versions: 2 item screening or 17 item) The scale addresses four areas of concern: 1) emotional burden of having diabetes 2) relationship a pt. with diabetes has with his/her physician 3) pt. ability to follow the diabetes regimen 4) interpersonal issues a pt. with diabetes might face with family/friends. Polonsky & Fisher Univ San Diego and UC San Fran
Assessment of Diabetes Distress Diabetes Distress Screening Scale (on a scale of 1-6, where 1 is not a problem and 6 is a very serious problem) 1) Feeling overwhelmed by the demands of living with diabetes 1) Feeling that I am often failing with my diabetes routine.
Diabetes Distress and Depression
Diabetes and Mental Illness
Diabetes and Mental Illness Psychological conditions affect a larger proportion of individuals with diabetes compared to the general public 30% of children develop psychiatric symptoms/diagnoses within 3 months of diagnosis of diabetes Groot, Golden, and Wagner (2016)
Diabetes and Mental illness Bidirectional Association: Diabetes and psychiatric disorders both influence each other in multiple ways. Ex: Depressed individual have a 60% increased risk of developing diabetes. Patients with diabetes have a 50-100% increased risk of developing depression Missed Opportunities: Up to 45% of cases of mental disorders go undetected among patients being treated for diabetes Balhara, 2011
Diabetes and Mental Illness Why review the relationship between diabetes and mental illness? All of the psychological conditions about to be reviewed have been found to be associated with decreased diabetes self-care behaviors in adults. Groot, Golden, and Wagner (2016)
Depression Diagnosis can be difficult due to symptom overlap (Poor energy, Weight loss) 10%-26% prevalence of depression in teens, 21.3-27% in adults with diabetes Antidepressants could be a risk factor for developing T2D Greatly higher risk for suicidality (suicide by insulin) Symptoms of depression can reduce treatment adherence, but when depression is treated, both mood levels and blood glucose improves
Assessment of Depression Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) Suicide Assessment
Anxiety Adults with Diabetes have a 20% increased prevalence of anxiety disorders than those without PTSD has been shown to predict the onset of T2D Anxiety may include: fear of complications of diabetes (hypoglycemia, blindness, coma, amputation, death) Anxious family may complicate care Phobias may increase risk and complications (ex: fear of needles, insulin pumps, glucose monitors, etc.) Groot, Golden, and Wagner (2016)
Substance Abuse Increase in alcohol, tobacco, and drug use Smoking: is an independent modifiable risk factor for the development of diabetes Alcohol: emergence of hypoglycemia
Eating Disorders Symptoms may include: restricted caloric intake, distorted body image, binge eating and/or purging, etc. 2.4 times more likely in teens, 5.3-14% in adults with diabetes Eating Disorders may be result of fears of diabetes complications and overcompensating for dietary instructions
Groot, Golden, and Wagner (2016) Psychotic Disorder Risk of T2D in pt. with schizophrenia is 2-4x that in the general population Related to unhealthy lifestyle, poor nutrition, lack of exercise, medication Recent finger pointing at conventional and atypical antipsychotics ADA recommends screening pts for diabetes prior to/just after initiation of antipsychotic meds Some meds cause weight gain which then increases risk of diabetes
Neurological Symptoms Dementia: patients with dementia may no longer be able to manage their diabetes Delirium: could be manifestation of hypoglycemic episodes or diabetic ketoacidosis
Other Psychological Factors Social Relationships: Support vs. Nagging
Social Relationships: Spousal efforts to persuade a patient to follow a healthy diet and criticism of food choices were associated with next day decrease in dietary adherence. Wiebe, Helgeson, and Berg (2016)
Part 3: Treatment Diabetes and Behavior: Diabetes is a unique chronic disease, as the patient's behavior and even viewpoint impact outcome Psychiatric symptoms have a tremendous impact on adherence to the treatment of diabetes
Treatment Consider a patient s experience: Mary has had T1D for over 40 years. After reviewing the Diabetes Distress Scale, she remarked that no doctor had ever told her she was doing a good job of managing her illness. Despite the fact that I m on a pump and a glucose monitor and I take meticulous care of both of those devices and monitor constantly throughout the day all of those efforts don t equate into good results. In fact, the opposite is true, that sometimes when I am trying my hardest to be vigilant, everything goes haywire.
Addressing Diabetes Distress Provide Support and Empathy Address the areas of self-care and diabetes management that are most challenging Consider open ended vs. close ended questions to ensure comprehension Compliment and encourage patients on their diabetes management
Treatment How to Assist a patient with Diabetes Distress: Provide diabetes education, blood glucose awareness training, and create and plan Provide resources and educate about additional levels of support (groups, MH providers)
Working Collaboratively The greatest effects on depression and diabetes outcomes have been seen in psychotherapeutic interventions combined with diabetes self-management Groot, Golden, and Wagner (2016)
Recommendations: Refer to Mental Health How Mental Health Can Help: Improve behaviors such as medical adherence and self-management Smoking Cessation Reducing emotional distress Improving patient knowledge Enhancing problem solving skills Family therapy, assisting family to be supportive and helpful Clay, 2017
Treatment Better detection/screening for diabetes distress is essential to improving diabetes self-care Future multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary management approaches are critical in the identification, treatment, and follow-up in our diabetes patients Greater perceived control over diabetes is associated with better self-management. So, if you have time to work on that with your patients great.but if not... Gonzalez, Tanenbaum and Commissariat (2016)
Refer to Mental Health Psychotherapy Effective with depression and diabetes Can address learned helplessness Can help with needle phobia Behavior plan to reward adherence Coping Skills Training Help increase positive, active coping methods Behavioral interventions for lowering BMI and weight
Collaboration of Medical and Mental Health The American Psychological Association (APA) and American Diabetes Association (ADA) have teamed up to create a training program for psychologists to work with patients with diabetes, APA and ADA have a registry where you can locate psychologists trained in working with patients with diabetes.
Together, we can help patients get from
To Living Well with Diabetes
Resources American Diabetes Association: Mental Health Provider Directory: https://professional.diabetes.org/mhp_listing Diabetes Distress Scale: http://www.diabetesed.net/page/_files/diabetes-distress.pdf Diabetes Prevention Program: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/about-niddk/researchareas/diabetes/diabetes-prevention-programdpp/pages/default.aspx
References American Association of Diabetes Educators (2017) Diabetes Distress: Dealing with the Weight of Diabetes. AADE Website Balhara, Yatan Pal Singh (2011) Diabetes and psychiatric disorders. Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism. Oct-Dec: 15 (4); 274-283. Clay, Rebecca. (2017). More Psychologists Needed to Treat Diabetes. Monitor on Psychology June 2017 Gonzalez, Jeffrey, Tanenbaum, Molly, and Commissariat, Persis (2016) Psychosocial factors in medication adherence and diabetes self-management: Implications for research and practice American Psychologist vol. 71, no 7, 539-551 Ellis, Sam, Fay-Itzkowitz, Ellen (2008) Depression and Diabetes: Clinical Assessment and Pharmacotherapy Lecture; Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes University of Colorado Health Sciences Center Keystone Emslie,Graham ( 2008) Improving Outcome in Pediatric Depression; American Journal of Psychiatry Groot, Mary, Golden, Sherita, Wagner, Julie (2016) Psychological Conditions in Adults with Diabetes, American Psychologist Vol 71, 552-562. Kleinschmit, Kristi (2012) Diabetes Mental Health, and Improving Adherence to Treatment in Children; Lecture; Division of Child Psychiatry, University of Utah June 20, 2012
Reference cont. Maberly, Glen, Rubin, George, Laube, Roy; (5/22) Comorbidities: Diabetes/CVD and Mental Illness Workshop; Lecture, Global Health Institute, Sydney Mascot, Cynthia (2015) Diabetes Self Management; website Polonsky, W.H., Fisher, L., Esarles, J., Dudl, R.J., Lees, J., Mullan, J.T., Jackson, R. (2005). Assessing psychosocial distress in diabetes: Development of the Diabetes Distress Scale. Diabetes Care, 28, 62-631 Wiebe, Deborah, Helgeson, Vicki, and Berg, Cynthia (2016) The social context of managing diabetes across the life span, American Psychologist, Vol.71, no7, 526-538.